Are moods contagious

As we approach the time of year when we end up spending more time with people than we normally would, we, hopefully, enter this thinking that World war 3 isn't going to kick off at any point especially if there is some family issues involved, if you get me.  That, or someone is generally in a rather pissed off mood.  I'm sure we all know someone who, on entering a room, instantly brightens it up.  Conversely the same could be said for the doom monger who walks in and sucks the life out of everything.  So are moods contagious?  I know we claim to think they are but in truth are they?

According to some Psychologists yes they are and it is called, in the case of bad moods, an emotional contagion and it happens in 3 stages.  The first involves you unknowingly copying the moody person's posture, behaviour, facial expressions.  If you catch yourself frowning, stage 2 makes you feel sad then you end up sharing bad experiences and feelings with the original person until you become "synched" into a dark pattern.  The good news is this can work in the opposite direction with a person in a good mood can "turn that frown upside" and cheer people up.  This synching of moods is called nonconscious mimicry (think of when someone yawns you end up doing it too) or the chameleon effect.  Stress too is one mood/emotion that can be passed around especially if there is a strong bond between people.  Studies on married couples have shown that women are less affected by their husband's stress whilst the husband's picked up on the negative emotions of their wives when the stressful situation was reversed.

These studies emphasise the importance of choosing wisely the company you keep so you get the good moods over Xmas and not the bad ones.

Til next week
MB